Mom went to visit Dad today. She found him sitting in a wheel chair, in the dining room of the nursing home, eating his lunch. The nurse asked her to wait, because Dad was feeding himself and they wanted him to finish. They had to feed him this morning. So glad to hear they are encouraging Dad as much as possible to do as much for himself as he can.
I called and spoke with the nurse and he assured me Dad is walking some of the time. He had walked down to the dining room for dinner tonight. Typical, Dad is so motivated by food, I guess he feels he will get it a lot quicker by going to the food! He told me Dad's hands were a lot better and that he was feeding himself.
Mom sat in a chair enjoying a cup of coffee the nurse brought her and watched Dad scarf a fish fillet sandwich, mixed veggies, cold slaw, milk, coffee and some pineapple upside down cake.his lunch as if soon someone would come and take it from him.
She wheeled him back to his room and helped him into bed. She read Dad some of his favorite poems, some lyrics to a few of the hymns he used to sing at church and some verses from the Bible. Mom takes it personally when Dad seems more entertained with the border on the wall up near the ceiling. Dad would start talking about negativity and Mom gently re-enforced the positive.
The nursing home has installed Dad's new TV, but it is not hooked up yet. His room mates, "The Laugher" was asleep and "Speedy" was out wandering the hallways, so they had the privacy but Dad was preoccupied with the wall paper border. She quickly got his attention by giving him two bags of cookies, some Cheez-it crackers and some almonds.
Dad sure seems to be more emotionally consistent. He takes his medication without any trouble and is no longer scheming ways to escape...He has a great appetite and still has range of motion. He seems resolved that the nursing home is where he lives now... I just want Dad to know we all love him and feel comfortable, safe and protected.
2 comments:
AS I read entries that I've missed, all I see, over and over and over, is the love you ALL feel for your dad. Surely this is a great part of what contributes to increasing emotional stability,, to his adjustment, etc. Just the simple description of his being negative and your mom "gently" emphasizing the positive. What a wonderful family. Thank you for sharing the small moments--they are intimate and very, very real. You do more good in this than you may know.
Hi Jeannette, thank you so much for your compliments. It means so much as I venture out into the unknown of blogging...
Its wonderful to have the support, like a special hug from a new friend. Thank you for stopping by, hope to see you again!
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